NIC-10 Girls Track: Hononegah poised for repeat

Tuesday

Apr 1, 2014 at 2:46 PMApr 1, 2014 at 2:46 PM

By Jay TaftRockford Register Star

Hononegah not only repeated as NIC-10 champs last season, but the Indians went on to win just their fourth sectional title, and first in seven years, compiling more sectional points than any other team in school history.

Danny Savage, in his eighth year as the girls track coach, doesn’t see any reason why they can’t do it again.

“I’m really excited. We’ve got the potential to have one of the best seasons in school history — again,” Savage said. “But then again, I think the conference is deeper overall this year. You’ve got Hononegah, Freeport and Harlem, but you never know when teams like Belvidere North and Boylan, or some of the others, can creep up there and be a darkhorse. A lot of teams are improving.”

Can the Indians improve on what they did in 2013? If they do, Patrice Jones will have a lot to do with it. Jones was conference MVP and a four-event NIC-10 champion as a freshman, when she placed ninth in the state in the 400. She sat out as a sophomore, nursing injuries, and then won the conference title in the 100 and qualified for state in three relays as a junior.

“She really can do it all,” Savage said. “And she seems focused in on having a great year.”

That was on display at last month’s NIC-10 indoor meet, where Hononegah outdistanced second-place Harlem 155.5 to 111.7. Jones won the 55 (7.37), 200 (26.44) and 400 meters (1:01.88). Other strong showings were sophomore Nicki Althoff, who took second in the 800 (2:27.65) and 400; and Ashley Cornford, who won the 200 hurdles (31.04), edging out Harlem’s Paige Gors (31.67), and took second in the 55 high hurdles (9.68), this time right behind Gors (9.57).

To top it all off, freshmen Kelsey Wulf and Grace Avery went 1-2 in the high jump.

“We have a big advantage in that dome, and it showed,” said Savage, who also has defending NIC-10 outdoor pole vault champ Maysea Miller. “It’s going to get tougher outside, but this is a special team. We’ve got to make sure we stay focused on ourselves, and what we need to work on, and not worry about the other teams that are shooting for us.”

The closest one being Harlem, led by runner Allison Hartman and Gors. The Huskies will lean on their depth and relay prowess.

“It will be exciting to watch this group grow,” first year coach Scott Sholl said. “Expectations are always high for our team, and the sky is the limit this year.”

Freeport, led by distance specialist Ellie Willging, may have closed the gap on the conference leaders, according to coach Dave Roloff. Willging qualified for the indoor state meet in her two events this past weekend, and she looks to be healthy and on a mission after she placed fourth in state in both the 1600 and 3200 as a sophomore, but failed to medal last season because of injuries.

“It may be harder for a (Class) 2A team to win this conference title than it is to place at state,” said Roloff, whose Pretzels were third in the NIC-10 and fourth in the state in Class 2A two years ago. “We’ll be chasing Hononegah and Harlem in the conference, for sure. After that, this is a team that can make some noise in the 2A postseason.”

Boylan’s 3,200-relay team of Kelsey Person, Erica Lowry, Kristina Kladar and Delaney Appino will look to continue the dominance they showed winning the indoor title by nearly 30 seconds. Belvidere North’s Carley Lutzow should challenge returning state qualifiers Willging and Auburn’s Janelle Ferguson in the 3200.